A
gigantic heatsink isn't always needed to cool energy efficient 65W Intel
Core 2 Duo processors, nor is it necessary for 35W Celeron processors.
Believe it or not, newer processors are sometimes colder than the chips they replace. The reason is simple:
Die shrinks. As the technology used to manufacture microprocessors moves from
90nm to 65nm, 65nm to 45nm, and shortly 45nm to 32nm, more circuits are
being packed into ever decreasing spaces. More efficient processors require
less electricity, and that generates less heat.

In other words if you're running an energy
efficient processor it can pay to know your CPU's TDP (Thermal Design Power)
before going out and dropping $80 bucks on overkill. Take for example the heatsink Frostytech is testing today. This is a muffin-sized socket 775 cooler, made of extruded aluminum with an 80mm
fan atop. The Glacialtech Igloo 5063 Light E is rated for 35W Celeron, 65W Core
2 Duo and 95W Core 2 Quad processors... though we'd recommend you only consider
it for the first two.

There's not a lot else that needs to be said about
the Glacialtech Igloo 5063 Light E heatsink, other than to reiterate that
it's best suited to vertically limited enclosures and energy efficient socket 775
processors. It should be suitable for 65W or 35W processors, but anything around a 150W heat
load is pushing it... as you'll soon see.

Base Finish and Flatness

Flipping a heatsink over to inspect the business
end is often a simple indicator of overall cooler quality. More practically
speaking, a heatsink is in many ways only as effective as the contact it makes
with the processor - the flatter and smoother the better. Base finish is one of
the criteria that Frostytech measure in the course of evaluating heatsinks, and
it involves two distinct aspects. Surface Finish is the first; this is
calculated with the aid of Surface Roughness Comparator that has a cross section
of common machine surface finishes and their numerical surface roughness
equivalents in microinches. The second is Surface Flatness. This is tested with
an engineers straight edge or proven flat surface, in two axis.

The base
of the Glacialtech Igloo 5063 Light E heatsink has a surface
roughness of ~16 microinches. The base is 33x33mm in size and flat in both
axis. A patch of good quality shin-etsu thermal compound is pre-applied to the base
for ease of installation.

FrostyTech's Test Methodologies are outlined in detail
here if you care to know what equipment is used, and the parameters under
which the tests are conducted. Now let's move forward and take a closer look at
this heatsink, its acoustic characteristics, and of course its performance in
the thermal tests!